


An Eventful Senior Year

by PlainKate



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Be nice to me, Highschool age, M/M, Manipulative Klaus, Multi, Weed, beta, diego comes in later so don't attack me, football player diego, good kid ben, mentions of a semi-abusive household, repressed sexually ben, smut later, this is my first fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2020-10-27 12:28:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20760368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlainKate/pseuds/PlainKate
Summary: Thank you to Sam for Beta-ing!Please give me validation this is my first ficShould i keep doing this? Let me know if you would want to see more





	1. Chapter One: The Meeting

CHAP 1

Ben sat at his desk at the front of the class, gazing wistfully out of the window to his right. Class hadn't started yet, and he was bathing in how silent and peaceful the room was before his peers would thunder in.The bell rang, and he sighed as the door was thrown open with a bang, bags were thrown down with loud thumps, and the quiet was abruptly filled with talking and giggling as the other students flooded in.  


Ben was well versed in the art of people watching-- it was all he'd been doing his whole life, learning about others through observing them rather than talking. Isolation and loneliness had been a consistent occurrence through all of high school, and this was Ben's particular way of coping. In a way, it wasn't so bad. He didn't have to deal with the humiliation of being socially rejected, and he had more time to focus on his studies; in fact, he wasn't even sure if his parents would let him hang out with any friends. He sat in the library most days, studying and preparing for his SATs like the dutiful, well-behaved kid he was. After all, he didn't have anyone to go get drunk with, fool around with, sneak off with, party with, or giggle and gossip with- so he threw himself into his schoolwork to escape. Besides, the better his grades were, the better his chances were of getting to college and escaping this school, his parents, and this town to start somewhere new.  


Observing the scene from his desk, not much was out of the ordinary. The friend groups were clustered together, sitting on desks flirting with various people of interest, and Ben's kin were taking up the front seats, taking out their notebooks and binders in preparation for the coming lesson. As the seconds ticked away on the clock on the wall, the last kids started running in, slipping in seconds before the bell rang, and Ben was just turning around to the board when his eyes got caught on someone in the back row.  


A kid had just thrown just himself into his desk as the bell rang, bag slipping off his shoulders as he situated himself. Unkempt curls spilled off his head in brown tight twists, and he was wearing a far too tight neon tank that he was somehow pulling off. The kid looked up quickly at the clock, and Ben's brain short-circuited. He had the most green eyes Ben had ever seen-- they had a piercing gaze, and a haunting beauty. Ban had certainly never called someone's eyes in real life "haunting;" far too cliche, he thought-- but this beautiful emerald pair wholeheartedly earned the title. He was lean, with definite muscle, but still quite a skinny kid-- Ben could see the muscles in his arms flexing subtly as he tried to fix his hair. The boy looked up, and Ben froze. Heat ran up his cheeks as he realized the kid had caught him staring-- and it was clear that he knew immediately what Ben had been thinking. Ben wanted to look away, knew he should look away, but he was stuck frozen by the kid’s hypnotizing eyes. That piercing gaze was aimed at him now, and it was... nothing short of overwhelming.  


The trance was quickly shattered as the kid raised an eyebrow suggestively, mischief dancing across his face as his mouth twisted into an amused smile. Ben whipped his head back around so fast he wouldn’t have been surprised if he had gotten whiplash. He latched his eyes on the whiteboard, and didn’t move them for the entire rest of the lesson.  
Ben may have kept his gaze on the whiteboard for the rest of the class, but Klaus couldn't quite say the same. He’d slid into class just as the bell rang, and he had just been getting situated, minding his own business, when he had looked up and made direct eye contact with some kid up in the front of the class. The kid had very obviously been staring at him, and the second their eyes met, a bright pink flush had spread over the boy’s pale skin. It was kinda cute, he supposed. He made a suggestive face at the kid, having an inside giggle at how the blush got even darker just from that. The kid had finally broken away and whipped back around towards the board. The back of his neck was red for the rest of class, which highly amused Klaus.  


Klaus had always prided himself on his ability to read people-- like Ben, isolation had been his partner for much of his life, so he’d directed his need for connection inwards. It resulted in him being surprisingly self-aware. Knowing himself so well helped him get into people’s heads.  
And so he observed Ben idly, head resting in his hand. He knew everyone in the class, and he’d never talked to the kid before, but had seen him around since 8th grade. The kid hadn’t changed literally at all over the years. The boy’s hair was impeccably parted, not a single hair out of place; it shone slightly under the bright artificial light of the classroom with the gel he’d brushed into it this morning. A small delicate chain necklace wrapped around his slender neck and disappeared under his sharply ironed collar. His backpack, open on the floor, held neatly organized notebooks, color-coded and labeled. Flicking his eyes up, he could see that even the kid’s pens were neatly organized by color next to his paper on the desk. Klaus looked away, bored. The kid had nothing fun going on or any dark secrets, rebellious nature, or playful aura. That stuff was fun. It was different. It had layers. The only layers this kid seemed to have were comprised of polished shoes and homework. Bored, Klaus spent the rest of class doodling an intricate eye in the middle of his worksheet.  


Not much happened until a few weeks later, when a group project was assigned.  
Ben’s eyes roamed the room, looking for his assigned partner. An unfamiliar name was printed on the slip clutched in his hand. Klaus. Klaus. Klaus. He’d never heard the name before, which wasn’t a surprise, considering he hadn’t ever talked to a considerable amount of his classmates. Suddenly feeling the same creeping emerald gaze on his peripheral, he slowly turned around to again meet the piercing gaze of the relaxed mystery kid in the back; The boy grinned and waved, holding up his piece of paper in the air. It had Ben’s name on it.  
Oh.  
Klaus. 

They'd exchanged numbers at the end of class. For professional reasons, Ben had to keep repeating to himself-- but he was wrapped up in his fantasies and wishes tonight, and so that thought was pushed from his mind by hope.  
The blue light of his phone lit up Ben’s face in the darkness of his room as he stared at Klaus’s contact on his phone. Klaus had taken a contact photo of himself before Ben could object, and, like the little shit he was, he had posed over-suggestively, a smirk on his face, head back, showing off his pale, unmarked neck, pulling his shirt down and showing his slender collarbones. For most people this was nothing, but Ben was incredibly innocent for his age, and stubbornly stuck to his naive, good boy, safe personality. Thus, Ben usually avoided looking at the photo for the sake of not blushing anytime he looked at his messages. But that wasn’t the case right now.  
Everyone feels emboldened in the night, cloaked in the darkness and hidden by the mask of black-- it’s almost human nature. Ben was no exception. He chewed on his lip nervously as he shakily typed out some messages and then immediately deleted them. He didn’t know exactly what to say, but he knew he wanted to say something. To be honest, he wasn’t even sure what the weird feelings he felt toward Klaus were, but he kinda liked them.  
He mustered up a bout of courage, and, holding his breath, he sent a message before he had time to second guess it:

_ Do you want to arrange a study date? You don’t have to if you are busy. We could do it at my house if you want. Whatever works for you. _  


Klaus was likewise sitting in the dark, the blue light of his phone screen lighting up his face. He, however, wasn’t lying down is a cozy bed in a cute room-- he was sitting on a fire escape downtown, the cold metal pressing into his butt painfully. He’d been sitting there for a while now. He was curled up, knees to his chest, back against a cold brick wall behind him, and his ridiculous furry black trench coat wrapped all around like a blanket. He had his earbuds in, music blasting, drowning the shouts through the window behind him. Desperately in need of a distraction, and with no more weed, he responded immediately: 

** asking me out on a date already you move fast benny inviting me to your house im not going to put out quite that fast **

Heat ran up Ben’s neck and cheeks as he read that. That little shit. He wasn’t dumb, he knew Klaus was just teasing, but it still got to him-- and that was incredibly annoying. He typed back, trying to stay strictly professional, stoutly ignoring Klaus’s provoking comments: 

_Where do you want to meet? My house is free this weekend, my parents will be gone, so it will be nice and quiet for studying._

Klaus was in no way going to let this be strictly professional. Over text, he could be more bold to the kid and Ben couldn't run away-- it would slowly warm him up to it. After all, Klaus had an end goal. His favorite kind of pursuits were the ones were he could corrupt the “good kids.” To be honest, he was very good at it. Getting in people’s heads was his favorite distraction, and, admittedly, that combined with his hedonistic tendencies tended to mean trouble. 

** im not sure itll necessarily be quiet benny how nice you got your parents out of the way so i can come to your house now we can finally be alone ;) ;) ;) ;) **

He’d had a good A+ schoolgirl writhing under him in a public bathroom, only her glasses left on her, a reminder of her previous good girl facade before he’d helped her find her true dirty self. He’d once pursued a student council president, playing along with the role of a romantic boyfriend until he could get the kid in bed (the good kids were undoubtedly the kinkiest in bed, he learned quite quickly). It had become his specialty. Ben would be the perfect new project; he needed a new distraction other than weed right now anyways. They found and agreed on a time, and Ben signed off, cheeks still hot. Why was he so nervous about a group project? Most of the time he’d be on it immediately, planning out everything, writing an outline, and figuring out ideas. This one was different, and he couldn’t figure out why (other than being frustrated that Klaus was utterly useless at actually working on the project and was essentially dead weight). 

He sighed and turned off his phone, frustrated, but despite trying to repress it, excitement bubbled up in his stomach at the thought of the meeting. He plugged in his phone to charge and snuggled into his blankets, closing his eyes and trying to fall asleep to be well rested tomorrow-- but his brain wouldn’t shut up. His mind was much too loud, and most of the thoughts bouncing around related to Klaus in some way. The name echoed through his brain, and it didn’t take long for the idle thoughts to turn dirty. Ben had never been in a relationship before, and had never done more than awkwardly fumbling around to get himself off once in awhile (he didn’t even know how to jerk off properly, that’s how bad it was). He was the definition of innocent: the most risque fantasy of Klaus floating around in his head at the moment was of them kissing, and even that was still too much for him. Ben hid his face in his pillow, blushing madly. The night crawled by at a snail’s pace.


	2. The Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group meeting happens at Ben's house....
> 
> Comments and kudos keep me going!

The rest of the week passed with much of the same: Ben sneaking glances to the back of the room, catching glimpses of Klaus’s curls, head down on the desk, looking at his phone in his lap so as to avoid the teacher’s gaze. Sometimes Klaus slept during the lectures, and he looked like a little cherub with his flushed cheeks and long eyelashes brushing his arms, pouty lips slack and loose. Not that Ben had been staring! He just was observing, he would quickly reassure himself every time.  
Klaus had been bouncing around in Ben’s brain far too more in the last week than he would care to admit. It resulted in a near-constant state of confusion, filled with butterflies in his tummy. It was a nice feeling in a way- but it was still aggravating how this boy had completely taken over his brain.  
Klaus. The name suited the kid in a weird way, but also seemed out of place with his personality. The name “Klaus” conjured up visions of gloomy, misty hilltop castles, or shots of sharp, ironed suits and fancy glasses. The name suggested a certain amount of elegance or at least sophistication, but Klaus was the kid that always bolted in almost late, hair messy and some.. bold shirt hastily thrown on. After a few days, Ben had noticed his shoes on the wrong feet more than once, and always untied without exception. Somehow, though, he still looked semi-put together in his own way. He wasn’t put together in the way Ben was- Ben wore polos and slacks every day, and he had never seen Klaus in anything even close to that. Well, he’d wear a button-up shirt if it were completely unbuttoned, but Ben decided that one didn’t count. When he thought hard about it, he realized he couldn’t even picture Klaus in a polo, and he didn’t think Klaus could, either.  
The more he thought about Klaus, the more glaringly obvious was it that they were both practically opposites of each other. Ben’s hair was always neatly parted and combed, while Klaus’s untended tight curls were endearingly tangled, hanging into his eyes. Klaus was the most social someone could be- always greeting people in the halls enthusiastically, joining in on conversations (and being welcomed), and laughing every other minute. Mischief was always glowing in his eyes. The lessons were always being abruptly brought to a halt by his jokes or stupid comments. In the beginning Ben had sighed in annoyance along with everyone else in the front, but by the end of the week he was laughing heartily along with the rest of the class- but when Klaus thought no one was looking at him, a more vulnerable version of him would be visible for just a second, looking tired and sad- but as soon as he saw someone looking at him or near him, Ben would see the mask flipping back up in a millisecond as he leaned forward and made a joke at the person looking at him, making them both laugh enthusiastically. Ben probably observed him way too much, to be honest. His eyes, though, were hypnotizing, an endless sea of emerald- and he couldn’t look away. They had an unmistakable aura of intelligence and something… more mature and aged than any of their peers. All of this really didn’t match Klaus’s exterior, not even close, but Ben was certain that there was more inside- but he knew it would be more than difficult to unlock.  
  
The soft, early Sunday light filtered through Ben’s curtains, filling his room with a soft glow. He was standing at the mirror, and he’d been standing in that spot for much longer than he cared to admit. Clothes were strewn about his feet, and various hair products lay on the cabinet beside him.  
  
Ben’s head was in a similar scattered state- and he was far more anxious than he needed to be about just a meeting for a group project. But he really wanted to look good. He’d tried on almost every polo he owned, in every color, switched pants countless times- not to mention how many socks he’d tried out. You wouldn’t think socks weren’t essential to a person’s attractiveness, and not integral to a look, and until today Ben would have agreed but everything seemed to matter today.  
  
He threw on a black sweater and jeans, and surprisingly, he didn’t mind the change of outfit all that much. However, this outfit was in no way in his comfort zone, so he ended up putting a button-down under the shirt and finally felt satisfied with the look. He neatly combed his hair into a strict straight, clean cut, then stood back and observed himself. He was still in his comfort zone but went a bit out of the box with the sweater. He straightened his collar and finally felt satisfied  
  
He didn’t have much time to feel satisfied- in fact, he had extremely little left. Panic flooded his small body, and he leapt into action. After chucking all of his clothes into the closet and hiding all the hair products, he darted about his room, rearranging everything, making his bed and vacuuming the already spotless carpet. Cleaning helped him feel better when he was feeling anxious, and he was on cleaning overdrive at the moment. Eventually, he flopped down on his bed, breath slowing down gradually. He had cleaned literally everything in his room and set up the supplies for the project. Books were laid neatly onto the freshly vacuumed floor, open to the right page, and binders were resting in the middle. There was absolutely nothing he could rearrange or clean anymore, and his heart started to race again, worried thoughts flooding his mind. He needed a distraction desperately.  
He ran down the stairs and threw open the fridge for something, anything to eat. He found a jelly donut and rested on the couch, enjoying the strawberry flavor, stuffing it into his mouth. He lost himself in the flavor- now this was a great kind of distraction; A lot easier than cleaning. The doorbell rang, echoing off the marble floors of the entryway- Klaus was here. He froze, jelly on his lips and crumbs on his sweater, and stood up and brushed them off as he shakily made his way towards the door. His hand stilled on the handle. It’s fine, he thought desperately. It’s just a group project. Feeling a bit calmer, he opened the door, and absolutely all of those thoughts vanished when he saw Klaus… and he was staring again. Klaus was wearing an open button-up, exposing his slim, pale torso. A bookbag was slung casually over his shoulder, and he flicked some curls out of his eyes as he looked at Ben expectantly, and after a minute, said,  
  
“Are you going to stop sucking my dick with your eyes and invite me in?”  
  
“Right. Sorry. Um. Come in.” Ben turned around to lead him in, ears bright red- but in turning around, he had missed the mischief glittering in the green eyes behind him. The kid was so easy to wind up- it was adorable.  
  
They stood in his entryway, taking in the rich mahogany smell mixed with artificial cleaner. Klaus’s eyes roamed the room, noticing the chandelier above, lingering on fridge with drawings from long ago pinned on it. For a second, Klaus felt embarrassed- The carpet in his room at home was dirty and matted, and his bed had a broken box spring. He was used to a small, dimly lit apartment polluted by the constant smell of alcohol. Lately, he’d gotten into the habit of escaping to fire escape or roof at night to escape it. This was the perfect example of a happy, nuclear family, complete with a picket fence outside. This was a whole different world, one he’d dreamed to be in for a long, long time. He’d never felt so out of place.  
  
He took a step forward, the fall of his foot echoing off the tiles. He looked at Ben incredulously, who was fidgeting nervously in front of him, sensing that something was making Klaus uncomfortable. As their eyes met, Klaus recovered quickly, sighing with exaggerated exasperation,  
  
“So. Are we going to your room, or are we just going to gaze dreamily into each other’s eyes until someone walks in?”  
  
Ben turned around, starting to walk up the stairs to their right,  
“I told you already, my parents aren’t home. They’re busy the rest of the day. They’re at work,” he added quickly. Klaus wiggled an eyebrow suggestively,  
  
“Well, I’m excited to see what you’ve prepared for us. I’m sure you’ve planned something just incredible for the occasion. Any handcuffs, Benny?”  
  
The back of Ben’s neck turned a bright red as he walked up the stairs, missing Klaus’s quiet giggle. This was a new project, one he hadn’t done yet; A new kid, adorable, a hopelessly naive and innocent good kid who he was sure would get flustered at just the mention of sex. Klaus was set on corrupting him. Maybe it would even help him. Ben was stuck in a box and hadn’t moved from it since eighth grade- there had to be more to his personality deep down under the polos and neatly combed hair. It could be beneficial to the kid to let his bad side out.  
  
The meeting went largely according to plan for a while, until Klaus flopped back onto the ground dramatically, groaning,  
  
“Let’s take a break. I’m exhausted. I was out late as fuck last night.”  
  
His pale chest was fully exposed as he lay on the carpet, and his far too tight leather pants didn’t leave much to the imagination. Ben shook his head in disagreement, eyes tightly shut as he tried to ignore his thoughts, a bright blush creeping up his cheeks- It was so hard to ignore the tantalizing figure on his floor. His eyes roamed Klaus’s body as Klaus whined about the project. He wasn’t muscled by a long shot, but he wasn’t quite thin either. Lean! He was Lean, that’s what he was. And god, he was beautiful, spread out on the ground, the sunlight from the window lighting up his pale body. Ben almost jumped a foot in that air when Klaus teased,  
  
“Like what you see?”  
  
Ben froze, whole face red. “Sorry- I’m sorry, I wasn’t, I wasn’t doing that- uh, um- I didn’t, uh-”  
  
Klaus mercifully cut him off. “I understand. There’s a lot to stare at. Don’t worry about it, Benny.”  
Ben, if it was even possible, managed to blush an even darker crimson at the nickname. Klaus chuckled, filing that away for use.  
Ben sighed shakily, “Can we please just get on with the project?”  
  
Klaus ignored him, sitting up. His button-down fell off his shoulders as he sat up, and he looked at Ben with an exaggerated surprise. “Oh, oh deary me. It fell off. I hope you don’t mind, dear.”  
  
Ben knew what he was doing, the bastard, but it was working nonetheless. He blinked quickly, mouth falling open slightly as the blush spread up his neck. **  
** Bingo, Klaus thought smugly. He hadn’t been with anyone for a while, and this one was so fun. It might take a while, but then again, the kid was so repressed and probably incredibly horny from the years- maybe Ben would get overwhelmed and give up immediately. He didn’t want to go too fast though. Scaring the kid would do neither of them any good, and just set him back in progress. Drawing it out and leaving Ben thinking of him was definitely the best option here.  
  
While Klaus was wrapped up in planning incredibly inappropriate things in his dirty mind, Ben was similarly wrapped up in his very innocent one. He was staring down at his notebook in front of him, trying with all his might to avoid looking at him. Think of the project, he thought to himself desperately, stop thinking about Klaus. You have work to do. His eyes darted up once, twice, stealing tiny glances at the shirtless boy reclining in front of him- but on the third glance, his eyes got caught on the amused emerald pair in front of him. Lit up by the sunlight, they almost glowed, and Ben got lost in them all over again, staring at Klaus dreamily, all his previous determination immediately dissipating. Klaus looked like a model, spread out tantalizing in front of him, the sunlight from Ben’s window putting him in a spotlight. His shirt lay on the ground next to him, his legs stretching out in front, and he winked. Ben blushed a quick crimson at being caught staring, thinking hysterically, _ fuck, shit, fuck, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh- _  
Klaus interrupted his thoughts,  
  
”Damn, you really like what you see, huh? Well Benny,” a seductive mask falling over his face, “You’re in luck- I like what I see too.”  
  
A single elegant hand reached out and cradled Ben’s face, his thumb falling gently onto his lips. Ben’s brain short-circuited as Klaus leaned in, and their lips almost touching as Klaus swiped his thumb across Ben’s lips, whispering, **  
** “You’ve got some jelly here, Benny,” and just as quickly as he had leaned in, he abruptly sat back, and sucked on his finger, moaning loudly, closing his eyes in apparent ecstasy.  
“Ugh, strawberry. My favorite.”  
  
He licked his thumb for good measure, feeling incredibly triumphant as he saw Ben’s pants tighten, his whole face flushed crimson.  
Ben might have well have been turned to stone, he was so still. His brain still wasn’t quite comprehending what was going on- his whole awareness was on Klaus sucking on his finger, his moans echoing around Ben’s head, tunnel vision on Klaus’s pink tongue slowly licking up his thumb. He didn’t even hear what Klaus said- it was drowned out by his heartbeat thumping in his head.  
  
As he slowly came back to, horror flooded his brain as he realized he was hard. He squirmed, trying to cover himself with his notebook, but it was far too late. Klaus had seen it early on, and he flicked his gaze downward, gracefully stating,  
  
“Glad you enjoyed, Benny.”  
  
Ben fidgeted uncomfortably, trying to hold his notebook in place as his cheeks burned from embarrassment.  
  
“Well, guess I’d better get going,” Klus said abruptly, loudly ending the mood that he had allowed to drape over the room, slinging his book bag over his shoulder.  
“Adios, Benny. I’m excited to do this again.” And with that, he strolled out, closing the door and leaving Ben alone, hard and confused.  
  
He slowly stood up, shuffling slowly to the mirror. His cheeks were still pink, and his jeans were very obviously tented by his hard-on. He quickly retrieved an oversized hoodie from his closet and put it on. He sighed and sat there for a long time, still not completely recovered yet, unsure what to do next.


	3. The Unsure Knight in Shining Armor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A deep look into Klaus's life and mind, and Ben has to drop his good-boy aesthetic in an emergency.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The show I'm in and school have been kicking my ass recently, so I don't have a consistent uploading schedule. But here's this! I love character studies and going in-depth.   
Comments and kudos make me super happy and help me have the motivation to keep writing

The rain matted Klaus’s curls to his face as his boots splashed along the sidewalk. He strode quickly, head down, soaked to the bone. It had been storming in the city for almost four days now, and it was making his life miserable. The rain itself he had nothing against, but the downpour prevented him from sleeping outside or on the roof at night, or taking his usual escapades throughout the city. He had been forced to crash at his friends houses, and on occasion, have to actually sleep in his own bed. He dreaded those nights- he’d go to great lengths to avoid any contact with his family whatsoever, usually climbing in through the window, locking his door, and slowly, carefully climbing onto his bed to avoid any creaking of the bed springs. It had become a pattern- a pattern that was slowly tearing away at his brain. It was making him remember, and as a result he’d smoked copious amounts of weed this week.  
  
Klaus didn’t consider that dark, dingy apartment his home- the city itself was his home. He knew every nook and cranny of the streets, knew when and where to find the best dealers and knew the detours to avoid gangs and thugs. He knew where he could crash if the time came, and what he needed to do in exchange. All of this he’d learned from experience from his years of roaming the pavement, surrounded by tall cement walls. The dark grey sky above matched the pavement all around- it was like he was walking in a cement box.  
  
He didn’t know exactly where he was walking, but he knew he was walking away. Away from that apartment that haunted him, away from the school, away from anything that he saw regularly in his everyday life. If you ever wanted to find Klaus on the weekends to hang out, good luck- he was almost never at home, and roamed the city like a lone wolf all night and day. He’d run away from home before, usually returning a week or so later, each time receiving an even harsher punishment than the one before- so eventually, he stopped running away entirely and just.. Disappeared. When he needed to retrieve something from his home, he’d climb in the window to avoid talking to anyone. He’d usually crash nearby- maybe on the roof of the building, on the fire escape outside, down in a tent in the alleyway below- but never inside. No one would miss him anyway, he thought, so vanishing seemed like the best option. But even to him, emotions and memories can still surface, and so, pushed by his hope for a safe, happy family again, he did go inside and sleep sometimes, but that sentimental feeling always vanished when his dad would start drinking again. The feelings would dash out his head at light speed, and he’d swiftly make his exit, grabbing some food or valuables on his way out. His strategy of avoidance worked in a way, as he hadn’t been beaten in quite a while- so he was safer physically, but admittedly, the avoidance did take a toll on him mentally. Logically, he knew that going back was a bad idea, but as always, the heart doesn’t always listen to the brain. Despite his best efforts, there still always remained a faint, heavy feeling in his heart- he wished for a family, a healthy and happy one. He wanted to be held tight in a safe, warm embrace, and sleep in a warm bed with the door open and unlocked. But all these emotions only held him back, and so he pushed them down, suffocating them until he didn’t have to feel them anymore.  
  
Early on, he’d consciously adopted a happy-go-lucky personality to survive- if people think you’re funny, you get on their good side. His sense of humor had saved him many a time, and earned him allies in the street; Even better, people would always welcome you into their circle without trying to claim you and hold you there. It had been quite advantageous over time. When he put on the mask around others, he didn’t have to think about who he was, or what he felt- he was just funny, stupid, and flirty Kluas. That was the Klaus everyone loved. If anyone ever met him without the mask, they’d be turned away by who he really was- a street kid with no direction, a druggie who’d done despicable things in order to get his high, a runaway who didn’t even know himself. No way in hell was anyone ever going to catch him without the mask on. He preferred it that way, anyways. He didn’t need anyone else- it was a mentality that was essential on the streets. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there. Every man for himself. You could only look out for yourself- if you ever let your guard down, someone would take advantage of you, and he’d had that happen to him too many times for him to even consider taking a shot with hang out with another street kid.  
He still forced himself to go to school- it had been difficult in the beginning, with no supplies and no good place to work- but he had adapted and found ways around it. No pens? How about stealing some of the free ones at clerks’ desks. No desk to work on? Go to the library. No light so he could study at night? Pocket a flashlight from the convenience store around the corner. Of course, sometimes he returned to his room to study. He wasn’t entirely a runaway- but he’d sufficiently emotionally and mentally separated himself from his family and home that he might as well have been. In the end, he was happy he still went to school. He’d usually get ready in his room, take a shower once in a while, steal some clothes and then quietly slip out the door. It was a shaky pattern, but it worked- and in Klaus’s opinion, if something wasn’t broken, don’t try to fix it. That was his mentality with a lot of things, and that mindset combined with his hedonistic tendencies tended to spell trouble for his classmates.  
  
He’d buy some weed whenever he could from a classmate, charming the dealer in question with his jokes and flattery, and sometimes exchanging.. other things that left him bruised knees and a raspy voice. He’d copy off others when he could, and often slept in the back of class, occasionally switching notes with a kind person next to him. He knew each of his fellow students like the back of his hand, and he could read them like a book. He was constantly looking for a distraction in his life, whether it was weed, stealing, partying, hooking up with strangers- but his favorites were his “projects.” That was just what he called his missions to seduce various students he thought were intriguing. It was his most long-term and engaging distractions. He’d gone after many different types of students in his time- each had required a different strategy. He’d seduced class presidents, geeks, popular kids, drama kids- you name it, he’d probably gotten one in his time. But Ben.. Ben didn’t fit into any of those categories. It was almost like he had never had a chance to fully unleash and understand his own personality, and that was almost the most interesting of them all.  
  
Ben seemed to be the polar opposite of Klaus. His personality alone was entirely different from his- but they both seemed to have on some sort of mask. Ben’s served the purpose of keeping his life and heart deep inside to protect himself, and Klaus’s served a similar purpose. In the end, Klaus mused, they were pretty similar in that way. They both wanted protection from the world, and locked themselves deep inside to protect themselves.  
Klaus was abruptly thrown out of his contemplating mood by a bus swerving out of his way. Klaus shook his head and blinked rapidly, taking in his surroundings. He was standing in the middle of the road, feet planted right in the middle of the street. He started running to the sidewalk, trying to get out of the way, but he tripped over his shoelace of his leather boots, and as he fell towards the edge of the sidewalk he cursed himself for tying his shoes. As soon as he hit the ground though, all those thoughts fell out of his head as his mind went dark.  
Luckily for him, a certain boy happened to be passing by at that very moment. Ben was strolling by, earbuds in, heading towards the library to return some books when he saw some lunatic standing in the middle of the street, and he took an earbud out as the kid ran towards the sidewalk. There was a semi barreling towards the boy, and his brow furrowed in worry. The kid might not make it in time- and if he had been worried before, his panic shot though the roof when the kid tripped over his shoelace and fell, banging his head on the edge of the sidewalk. He scanned the kids body from across the street- he wasn’t getting up, and his legs were still on the road. After looking both ways, of course, (one had to be responsible, even in this situation) he sprinted across the street and grabbed the kids hands, laboriously dragging the kid onto the sidewalk. He fell to his knees, gasping for air. He really needed to get more exercise.  
  
He pushed the kids fuzzy trenchcoat up and felt his pulse. He was alive, thank the lord, but Ben had no idea how to deal with people who were unconscious, and he was just about to call for help when his eyes caught on the kids’ curls. He froze.  
  
_Klaus.  
  
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, __  
_  
  
Ben thought desperately. What if he was super hurt? That was a bad fall. What if he got a concussion? He turned Klaus onto his back and hovered nervously over him, unsure of what to do. Panic was coursing through his veins as he lightly slapped Kaus’s cheek, trying to wake him up.  
  
_“Klaus! Klaus! Come on, wake up! I know you’re in there..”_ he whispered desperately, mostly to himself in his hysteria.  
  
Someone was calling to him, Klaus thought groggily. The sound was swimming through his brain. He tried to open his eyes, but they felt too heavy. He groaned softly.  
  
Ben heard the groan, and gasped. He continued his hysterical whispering, but with a bit more hope added in this time.  
  
“Klaus! Come on! You can do it! Klaus!  
  
Klaus forced his eyes open. There was a boy over him.. Why was the boy whispering his name? Where was he? The boy sounded.. Familiar. He croaked,  
  
“...Ben?”  
  
Ben gasped in relief, the tension in his body releasing in an instant.  
  
“God. You’re okay. Jesus Klaus, why did you scare me like that??”  
  
Klaus tried to sit up, but Ben forced him back down by the shoulders.  
  
“No. You’re not allowed to sit up yet.”  
  
Klaus smirked weakly.  
  
“That was kinda rough, Benny. That eager, huh?”  
  
Ben stoutly ignored that comment. _Yup, he’s definitely back to himself._  
  
“Shut up. Do you remember what happened?”  
  
Klaus furrowed his brow, racking his brain. There was a bus.. A flash of panic.. Feet hitting the ground as he ran… And sudden pain as his head hit the edge of the sidewalk.  
  
“I think so.”  
  
Ben sighed.  
  
“How did you even end up in the middle of street in the first place, you idiot?”  
  
Klaus wore his signature smirk, staring Ben straight in the eyes as he said,  
  
“I was thinking about you, Benny.”  
  
Despite the circumstance, Ben flushed, cheeks warm. He stood up quickly, turning away from Klaus as he stuttered,  
  
“Come o-on. Get up, lets go.”  
  
Klaus stood up shakily, losing his balance and almost falling over again but he was thankfully saved by his knight in shining armor as Ben caught him. Suddenly aware of the close proximity of Klaus to his body, Ben dragged his eyes away from the boy in his arms, looking anywhere but at Klaus as Klaus clung to him like a koala bear. Klaus said,  
  
“My knight in shining armor.. You saved my life, Benny..”  
  
Ben shook his head in exasperation._ Why did he help Klaus up again? Jesus christ. _He adjusted Klaus so he could walk while still leaning on him, and started to move down the sidewalk. That is, until Klaus stumbled, almost falling over again, and whined,  
  
“Oh no. I guess I can’t walk. Pick me up.”  
  
Ben groaned and picked Klaus up bridal style, and started walking down the path.  
  
“Oh.. How romantic, Benny.”  
  
As they continued down the sidewalk, Klaus continued flirting with him, and Ben continued to stoutly ignore him. It went the same way the whole time.


End file.
